Second Chances
by stellarspartan
Summary: PG-13 for some bad words and a lotta kissing and stuff (nothing described, though, the worst stuff comes from your imagination depending on how dirty it is ;)...Shelle comes face to face for the first time in almost 10 years...
1. Meeting Again

Together Again

Author's Note: I know you're going to hate me for this, but I know I'll redeem myself eventually. To start the story, Belle and Shawn haven't seen each other in almost 10 years. If I worked the math out right, Belle is 27 and Shawn is 28. Belle's a teacher in Orlando, and Shawn's still a Merchant Marine stationed in Los Angeles. Oh, this is kinda important. Shawn's single, and Belle's engaged. There's the lowdown. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The only characters that are mine are the names that you don't recognize from the show. I'm not making any money off my story. I'm not _that_ good, people.

Second Chances

by leiadude

'What am I doing here?' Belle Black asked herself as she stepped into her old high school gymnasium. 'Oh, yeah. It's called the ten-year reunion. I can't believe I actually came. I thought I swore to myself that I'd never come back to Salem once I left. Oh, well. It's a good chance to see everyone again.'

"Belle!"

Belle turned at the sound of the voice and saw Chloe Lane waving like a maniac on the other side of the gym. They made their way towards each other, meeting in the middle with a huge hug. Belle stepped back and looked her old best friend over. "Chloe, looking good, looking good. So, I hear you're making it big on Broadway," she commented, remembering that she had read articles about the success of Broadway musical star Chloe Lane.

Chloe simled. "Yeah, well, I just followed my dream and made it. What about you? You wanted to get a job and see the world."

Belle shrugged. "Yeah, well, I got to Florida and stopped. I'm teaching history in a high school in Orlando, and it's great. I love it. So, you married yet?"

Chloe shook her head. "Nope. I'm as single as single can be. Broadway keeps me busy, you know. You? Did you ever marry the man of your dreams?"

It was Belle's turn to shake her head. "Nope. I'm engaged, though, to a middle school science teacher," she mentioned, holding out her left hand to show Chloe her engagement ring. "We're getting married next month, on July 23rd."

Chloe gazed at the ring for a few minutes, then looked up at the door briefly and froze. "Oh, my God. I can't believe he came."

Belle turned around to look and saw none other than Shawn Brady looking around the room. "Why? Did he say he wasn't?" she asked, turning back to Chloe.

"Well, he said he wasn't sure if he could. He's still in the Merchant Marines, you know," Chloe pointed out. "They had him in Israel for a couple of years, but now he's stationed in LA. Did you two stay together after you went to Florida?" she asked.

Belle turned back around and saw that Shawn was walking towards her and Chloe. "No, I told him it was me or the Marines. He, of course, chose the Marines," she explained. "That's the short version, anyways. The long version could take about a month to tell."

Chloe looked at her best friend in surprise. "What? You actually said that? Don't take this the wrong way, but that was possibly the stupidest thing you could've done. The only reason Shawn's not married is probably because he moves around so damn much." Their conversation had to stop there because Shawn reached them. He took off his hat.

"Good evening, ladies," Shawn greeted them formally, bowing his head.

Chloe laughed. "Shut up and give me a hug, you big-shot marine you," she joked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Shawn visibly relaxed. "Yes, ma'am," he laughed, hugging Chloe back. When they broke apart, Shawn looked at Belle and saw that she had taken a step back. "You're not getting away that easily, Perfect Girl," he said, hugging her.

Belle embraced Shawn for the first time in 10 years. "Hey, Tough Boy. You know, we need to get a new nickname for you, because Tough Boy just ain't working. After all, you're no boy anymore," she pointed out.

Shawn flashed his sexy grin Belle's way and almost made her heart melt. "Yeah, well, we'll have to change yours too, because you've definitely changed into a woman," he shot back. "So, what's going on in the life of Isabella Black?" he asked, noticing that Chloe had slipped away, probably to talk to old friends.

Belle cleared her throat. "Well, I'm a high school history teacher in Orlando, go to Disney World as often as I can, and met a great 8th grade science teacher two years ago. We're getting married next month. You?"

Shawn's eyebrows shot up at the mention of her getting married. "Wait a minute. You-you're getting married?"


	2. Remembering

Second Chances Chapter 2

Belle saw the disappointed look on Shawn's face when she told him she was getting married and her heart sunk. She still didn't like to see Shawn unhappy, even after all these years.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I'm getting married on July 23rd. I have an invitation for you, actually. I was going to mail it, but I didn't have your address," she added, taking an envelope out of her purse and handing it to Shawn.

Shawn took the envelope out of Belle's hand and looked at the invitation. "Hmm. So, you're getting married. That's-that's-" he took a deep breath and looked down at Belle. He blinked, trying to clear the tears that had welled up in his eyes. "That's great, Belle. Congratulations," he told her, hugging her. Inside, though, he felt like his heart was being ripped in two. 'Belle? _My_ Belle, engaged? Why? Why not to me? I mean, I still love her. Why aren't _we_ getting married? Oh, yeah. Because she dumped me. That's right,' he thought to himself. Shawn's memory went back to that fateful day, the day after graduation.

***FLASHBACK***

Shawn poked his head inside the Black's penthouse. "Hello? Anybody home? Hey, Brady," he greeted Brady, Belle's older brother, as he came out of the kitchen with a bowl of ice cream.

Brady nodded his head in Shawn's direction. "Hey, Shawn If you're looking for Belle, which I assume you are, she's in her room. I have no idea what she's doing, though, so I'd knock first if I were you," he suggested.

"Thanks, Brady." Shawn headed up the stairs and stood in front of Belle's door. "Belle?" he called softly, lightly knocking on the door. "Belle, sweetie, what did you want to see me about? Belle?" He opened the door just enough to peek inside to see if she was in there. She was.

Belle looked up when she heard Shawn open the door. "Hi, Shawn," she greeted her boyfriend of almost a year, standing up to give him a hug. "Thanks for coming over."

Shawn hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek. "Anytime, baby, anytime. So, what did you want to see me about?" he asked, sitting down on her bed.

Belle closed her bedroom door and turned to face Shawn. "Shawn, after I got home last night from Mimi's party, I got to thinking. I love you, and there's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you. But we just graduated, Shawn. We're not supposed to know what we want to do with our lives, you know? Like, the biggest decision we should be making is where to go to school next year or what to major in. And you already know what you want to do, and I already know what I want to do, and it all boils down to a choice." She paused to catch her breath. 'I can't believe I'm actually doing this,' she thought to herself.

Shawn leaned forward to rest his chin in his hands. "A choice between what?"

Belle sat down next to Shawn. How much she desperately wanted to run her hands through his hair, feel his arms around her and his lips against hers…no, she couldn't think of that. Maybe the bed wasn't the best choice. She moved onto the floor. That's better. "Well, it's between two things. We both know that I'm going to college in Florida to be a teacher, and you've been wanting to be a Merchant Marine since, like, kindergarten. Not really, but you know what I mean."

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, I do. I've been wanting to go into the Merchant Marines for most of my life, and teaching's always been your passion. So what's this choice that must be so devastating that you can't bring yourself to tell me what it is?" he prompted.

Belle took a deep breath. "This is so not something I want to say, but I don't have a choice. Here's the deal. It's me or the marines. That's the choice. If you choose me, you can't be a Merchant Marine, but if you choose the marines, you can't be with me, and I'll tell you why. You know I love you, but I can't live with someone who moves whenever they're assigned someplace halfway around the world. When I get married and have kids, I want to be rooted, you know? I want to stay in pretty much one place. I can't have my kids going to six different elementary schools in their first five grades. I want them going to one, and only one. One elementary school, one junior high, and hopefully one high school. I know I'm gonna make some sacrifices as a wife, but that's one thing I'm not, okay? So, it's me or the marines." She stopped and searched Shawn's face for his reaction.

Shawn sighed. 'Belle or the marines? So basically, my lifelong dream or my lifelong love? What the hell am I gonna choose?'

***END FLASHBACK***


	3. It's A Date

Second Chances Chapter 3

"Shawn? Shawn, are you okay?" Belle asked worriedly. She waved her hand in front of Shawn's face to get his attention.

Shawn blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. I was just thinking about stuff," he explained.

Belle looked down at her hands. "Just stuff? Anything in particular?"

"I was thinking about the day after graduation. You know, when you told me I had to choose between you and the marines."

Belle nodded sadly. "How could I forget that day? Look, Shawn," she began, looking up at him. "I never intended to hurt you. I just didn't want a life where I was always moving around."

"You promised you'd marry me."

"We were eight. I also promised I'd stop putting sand down your pants," she pointed out.

Shawn grimaced at the sand-filled memories. "Point taken. At least you kept that promise."

"Ooh. I had that one coming." Belle reached up to touch the side of Shawn's face. "Shawn, I'm sorry. It all turned out for the better, though. I mean, you got your dream career and I got my dream job, and I even got a great guy to go along with it."

Shawn turned his head. She didn't have to rub it in that she was getting married. He was already hurting enough to last for more than a lifetime. "Yeah, well, you didn't make the choice very easy on me, Belle. I had to choose between my lifelong dream and my lifelong love. It was a helluva choice, and I still don't know if I made the right one."

Belle sighed. "Damn it, Shawn, you're not making this very easy. I'm trying to explain what I was thinking then-"

"You don't have to explain anything! When you told me that I had to choose between you and the marines, you basically told me that you didn't really love me. See, the way I have it figured, if a girl tells the guy that she loves that he needs to choose between her and something else, then she doesn't really love him. It's kind of like saying 'Okay, what do you love more? Me or this?' That's basically said, Belle, and it pissed me off. That and made me sit in my room for hours on end, comparing the two options. Thanks a lot for making my life easy." By this time, Shawn's voice had risen a lot, and people were starting to stare.

Belle looked around. "There's nothing interesting here, people!" she yelled out, and everyone turned back to their own conversations. "Look, Shawn, could we go somewhere private to talk about this?" she asked quietly.

Shawn took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. His commanding general had warned him about his temper, and had told him that it could get him in trouble. "Yeah, sure. How about we go to the dump, because that's how I felt the minute I stepped on that plane for LA," he said sarcastically.

Belle glared at him. "Shut up, Shawn. Look, I'm staying in the penthouse. My parents are renting it out and I'm using it this weekend. We could go out to dinner at Tuscany's or something and then back to the penthouse to talk about this like the two mature adults that we are," she suggested.

Shawn nodded. "Okay, I like that idea. I'll make reservations for 7:30, so I'll pick you up at 7. Does that work for you?" he asked.

Belle nodded, and spotted Mimi entering the door. "Yeah, that's perfect. If you'll excuse me, I have an old friend I need to catch up with."


	4. Hello Again

Second Chances Chapter 4

(Note: I have a feeling this is gonna be a long story, and I'm sorry if you're getting bored. More interesting stuff is gonna happen soon, I promise.)

Belle looked at her watch and sighed. 6:45. Knowing Shawn and his incredible talent of showing up early for almost everything, he should be arriving at any minute. She paced the living room of the penthouse until she started getting dizzy, then sat down on the couch. "Where is he?" she asked. "I was expecting him by now." She looked at her watch again. 6:49. No, wait. 6:50.

DING DONG

And there he was. Belle took a deep breath and walked over to the door. Checking her hair one last time, she opened the door and almost keeled over from what she saw. Shawn was dressed in khaki pants and a tight blue t-shirt that showed off his muscles.

Shawn raised his eyebrows at the sight before his eyes when Belle opened the door. "Wow. You look – you look great." And it was the truth, too. She was wearing a simple yet elegant black dress that fell right above the knees. And the best part about the dress, in Shawn's opinion, was that it hugged Belle's curves in exactly the right places. He always loved that.

Belle felt her face get warm from the way Shawn was looking at her. She could see the passion, the want in his eyes and was a little uncomfortable. Didn't he know the way he was affecting her? Standing there in that blue shirt and those pants – ooh, it was so tempting to flat out kiss him right there…

'Get those thoughts out of your head, Isabella. You're a taken woman now. You're getting married to Jacob in a month, and you don't have feelings for anyone else,' she scolded herself. 'But he does look pretty damn sexy in that shirt—Okay, that's enough. Stop it, Belle.'

Belle took a deep breath to stop the argument going inside her head and smiled. "Thanks. You look great too."

Shawn smiled back. "Cool. You ready?" he asked, offering his arm.

Belle accepted his arm and shut the door behind her. "Absolutely. Let's go to dinner." When they reached Shawn's car, Belle whistled. "Nice car," she complimented him.

Shawn smiled and opened the passenger door for Belle. "Thanks. It's a '99 Camaro Sport that the Marines supplied for me. So basically all it cost me is a lot of physical pain," he joked.

Belle sat in the passenger seat and put on her seatbelt. When Shawn stepped in his side, she said, "I don't know much about cars, not even with Brady as my older brother, but I know a nice car when I see one. Did you get to pick it out?"

Shawn shook his head and started the engine. "Unfortunately, no. Luckily, though, they picked a nice one for me. So, let's go," he said, turning on the radio and hitting the gas pedal.


	5. I Still Love You

Second Chances Chapter 5

The ride to Tuscany's was fairly silent. The only conversation was talking about the first day of the reunion and who they had talked to. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Belle, they reached the restaurant. Shawn ran over to Belle's side and helped her out of the car. Thanks to Shawn's reservation, they got right in and to a table. Belle sat down while Shawn ran off to the bathroom. While he was gone, she had another mental conversation with herself.

'Okay, Belle, answer me this: why'd you ever let him go? Huh? Even Jacob doesn't open doors and stuff for you, and he's one of the most gentlemanly people you've met since moving to Florida. Shawn's always been this way towards you, even when he'd make fun of your hair. Which, by the way, he hasn't done at all. So why did you let him go? I mean jeez, you did everything but physically push him away. Why?'

'Why? Why? I'll tell you why. Because I didn't want a life of constantly moving around. I've never wanted that, and there's no way I'm living with it.'

'But you know that Shawn would give up anything for you. He only wants you to be happy, and you know that. He's told you that dozens of times.'

'He didn't give up the Merchant Marines for me.'  
'Yeah, but-'

'Shut up. You're not helping.'

'Helping what? Helping you get rid of the feelings you still have for him? Face it, Black, Shawn's a hunk with a great personality and great manners, and you're not over him. You never will be.'

'I told you to shut up. I don't wanna hear it, especially from you. What a I talking about? I'm talking to myself here.'

Belle stopped her argument in her head when Shawn came back from the bathroom. He sat down and opened his menu. "So, what are you getting?"

Belle cleared her throat. "Actually, I haven't looked at the menu yet. Hmm." She thought over the selections. "You know, if the food's the same as it was ten years ago, the chicken fettuccini is really good. I think I'll have that and a glass of wine. You?" she asked, looking at Shawn.

Shawn looked up to find himself looking straight into Belle's bright blue eyes. 'Ah geez…Does she have any idea what she's doing to me?' He looked back down at the menu. "You know, the steak looks really good. I think I'll have that."

"Great." Belle closed her menu and set it to the side. Taking a sip of water, she studied Shawn's features. 'Mmm, he's gotten a lot handsomer since the last time you saw him. His shoulders look really toned, and I'll bet he's got great abs…Okay, Belle, you're doing it again. Stop it. But—stop.'

Shawn laid his menu to the side and set his napkin on his lap. "So," he stated.

"So."

"Did I tell you that you look great?" Shawn asked. 'Ah, geez. I must sound like a freaking idiot. Small talk never was my strong point.'

Belle nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you did. And I said thanks and that you look great too."

Shawn took a big gulp of water. 'Thank God it's cold water. Maybe it'll help calm my stinking nerves. Come on, Brady, what's your problem? You've dealt with women before. But this isn't just any woman-this is Belle. Your Belle. Your Belle who's getting married in a month and a half. Okay, that's it. You're done with this fooling around. Just tell her how you feel—how you still feel. See how she reacts to that.'

After they ate their dinner, Shawn took a deep breath. "Belle, I have something to tell you. I've been wanting to tell you ever since I walked on that plane to LA for my training."

Belle shifted in her seat. 'Here it comes,' she thought to herself. 'The forced smile, the fake "I'm so happy for you, Belle." Oh, wait. I already got that at the reunion.' She smiled. "Go ahead."

"I'm still in love with you. I always have been, and to tell you the truth, I always will be. Now, I don't want to do this, but I have to force you to make a choice. You did it to me, and now it's my turn to do it to you. I already lost you once, Belle, and I don't wanna lose you again. I know that if you go ahead and marry your fiancé, Jacob, was it?" At Belle's nod, he continued before she could say anything. "If you go ahead and marry Jacob, I'll never forgive myself. I know that you still love me, Belle. I can tell by the way you looked at me back at the penthouse, and I know that if you marry Jacob you'll be kicking yourself into your grave. Knowing you, you'll overwork yourself, stress out over the smallest thing, have a horrible life, and raise kids who don't know how to follow their hearts. So here's your choice, sweetheart. It's me or Jacob. Now, I know you'll say 'But if you're saying that you don't really love me.' But let me tell you know, that's a bunch of bull. I'm giving you this choice because I want you to be happy. So, decide who you'd be happiest with and go with that. But I urge you to follow your heart because it's the only way to go with this." Shawn took a deep breath to calm his beating heart after finishing saying that.

Belle looked down at the table. Okay, she definitely deserved that one. It was only right for Shawn to make her choose between two things that she wanted. 'Who am I going to choose?'

She looked back up at Shawn. "Do I have to choose tonight?" she asked, hoping that his answer was no.

Shawn shook his head. "No, of course not. But I urge you to decide before July 23rd."

Belle stood up. "I want to go home," she announced, turning towards the door.

Shawn grabbed the check and paid for it on the way out. "Anything for you, my love. Absolutely anything."


	6. Something's Changed...

Back at the penthouse, Shawn sat on the couch as Belle walked into the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?" Belle called out.

Shawn leaned back and thought. "No, I'm good."

Belle opened the refrigerator and pulled out a Coke. When she walked out into the living room, she stopped to gaze at Shawn relaxing on the couch. He had stretched out his arms on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. Belle cleared her throat to announce her arrival. "Okay, so did you want to talk?" she asked.

Shawn opened his eyes and looked at his ex-girlfriend. 'No, and I ain't saying what I wanna do cuz I kiss my momma with this mouth,' he thought to himself. "Sure, if you wanted to."

Belle sat down on the edge of the couch, as far away from Shawn as she could get. "You know, Shawn, I really am sorry that you had to go through what I put you through. I know that the choice must have been really hard to make," she said, trying to start the conversation.

Shawn rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, you know what? Let's not talk about that, all right? I really want to talk about something else."

Belle opened her Coke. "Works for me. So, what do you want to talk about?" she asked, taking a sip.

"Us."

Belle almost choked on her drink. "Shawn, there is no us, remember? You chose your job over me, and that broke off the 'us' part of our lives," she reminded him.

Shawn moved closer to Belle and gently touched her cheek. "What if I regret that decision?"

Belle pulled her face away from Shawn's feathery touch. "Shawn, please. I'm engaged, okay? Even if I wanted to be with you, I couldn't. I mean, I can't. I-" she stood up to try and get away from Shawn. "You should go."

Shawn stood up and walked behind Belle. Putting his arms around her waist, whispered in her ear, "I don't wanna go, Belle. I want to be with you forever. I always have, and I always will."

Belle felt Shawn's hard body pressed against her back and almost melted, but her genetic Black willpower stopped her from giving in right there. "Shawn-" She stopped when she turned around and made eye contact with Shawn. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break that eye contact. 'Ooh, how come you always do that to me? Even after all these years I still want you more than anything,' she thought.

Shawn locked his gaze with Belle's. He so desperately wanted to kiss her, but wasn't sure what she would do when he did. Would she slap him? What about kick him out of the penthouse and never talk to him again? Or would she melt into his arms and be with him forever like he wanted her to?

With her hands resting against his chest, Belle could feel Shawn's heart beating faster and faster until she thought it was going to beat right out of his chest. 'I wonder if he's going to kiss me,' she wondered.

Shawn started debating the pros and cons of kissing Belle. 'Come on, man, just kiss her already. You know you love her and you want to kiss her,' said the rebellious part of him.

The other, gentleman part wasn't so sure. 'But she's engaged. She's not yours to play with. Ten years ago, sure, but now? No way.'

Eventually, though, the rebel part won the argument. Shawn moved his eyes to gaze at Belle's lips, and he leaned toward her.

'Here it comes,' Belle thought. 'He's going to kiss me now.' She slowly closed the gap between her and Shawn.

Shawn heard a breathy "Shawn" come from Belle's mouth right before his mouth descended upon hers. He felt Belle melt into his arms, just like he wanted. He wrapped his arms tightly around Belle's waist as he deepened the kiss.

Belle wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck and moaned softly into his mouth. 'How can he still kiss like that? It's not fair. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Shawn was trying to win me back by his kisses. If he is, it sure as hell is working.' 


	7. Ending A New Relationship...

Second Chances Chapter 7

Belle picked up the telephone and sighed. 'I don't want to hurt Jacob, but I have to do this.' She sat down and dialed her fiancé's phone number. After ringing twice, he picked up.

"Hello?" Jacob's voice rang through Belle's phone.

Belle almost hung up on him. She hated it when Jacob was hurt, and she certainly didn't want to cause the pain. But she had to do what she was about to do, otherwise she wouldn't ever be happy. Jacob would understand that, he'd have to. "Hey, Jake, it's me."

"Hey, sweetie. How's Salem? Everything still look the same?" Jacob asked, obviously smiling at the sound of Belle's voice.

Belle cleared her throat. "Um, yeah. Look, Jake, I have to tell you something. Um, remember I told you about Shawn?"

"He was your ex-boyfriend, right? The one that you dumped?"

"Yeah, that's right. Well, we met up last night at the reunion."

"Oh really."

Belle heard the suspicion in Jacob's voice and almost regretted what she was going to tell him. Almost. "Yeah. We went out to dinner and then came back to my parent's old penthouse-"

Jacob immediately became angry. "Did he touch you? Belle, I swear to God, if he did, I'll-"

Belle mentally kicked herself. "No, Jake, nothing happened between us," she lied. She hated lying to him, but she had to for Shawn's sake. "Actually, when we were talking, I kind of realized something."

"What?"

Belle took a deep breath. "Jake, I realized last night that I can't marry you, and I'll tell you why." She continued before he could say anything. "I'm still in love with Shawn, Jake, and I think I always have been. And I know that if I marry you, I won't be happy, and you won't be happy. We'd end up having kids that are totally screwed up because their mom didn't marry the man she loved and now she was stuck with him. So, I'm breaking off our engagement, Jake. I'm sorry," she explained. Belle waited for his reaction but didn't expect what she heard.

Silence. Dead silence. Then, after a few moments, "You don't love me?"  
Belle offered a silent prayer of thanks for Jacob's calmness. "No, Jake, I do, just not in the same way I love Shawn. I care about you, that's true, but I only love you as a friend. What I feel for Shawn-it's completely different. I _love_ him, Jake. I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I hope you understand," she pleaded.

Jacob sighed. "Yeah, I understand. As long as you're happy, I'm happy, okay? Just remember one thing-if things don't work out with Shawn, I'll still be here waiting." With that, he hung up.

Belle looked at the receiver and couldn't believe what she had just heard. Jacob hung up on her. She didn't really know what to feel-happiness that she was free to marry Shawn, or sadness that Jacob was so-what was the word-upset that he hung up on her. Belle quickly dialed Shawn's number. He was staying at his old house that his parents still owned.

"Hello?"

Belle smiled at the sound of Shawn's voice. "Hey, Shawn, it's me."

Shawn grinned. "Hey there, beautiful. So, what's new?"

"I dumped Jacob."

Shawn's eyebrows shot up at the news. "You're kidding. How'd he take it?"

Belle leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table. "Better than I expected. He basically told me that as long as I'm happy he's happy, and that if things don't work out with you he'll be in Florida waiting, and then he hung up on me," she explained.

"He hung up on you? He obviously doesn't know that nobody hangs up on Isabella Black," Shawn joked.

Belle laughed. "Yeah, well, he did. I'm okay with it, though. Jacob's one chapter of my life that I'm done with." She rested the phone between her shoulder and ear and fingered her engagement ring that Jacob had gotten her. "Except, I have one problem."

"No you don't."

Belle chose to ignore that comment. "I don't know what to do with my engagement ring. Should I toss it?" she asked.

Shawn thought for a second. "Well, I don't know. I think you should send it back to him with no return address," he suggested.

"You're an evil, evil man, you know that?" Belle said.

Shawn laughed. "I'm proud of it, too. So, you know what this means?"

"What?"

"Like I'd tell you over the phone. Look, I'll be over in, like, ten minutes, okay?"

Belle nodded, even though Shawn couldn't see her. "Okay," she agreed, confused.

Shawn stood up from his seat on the couch. "Good. See you then." He hung up and looked at his mom.

Hope smiled at her oldest son. "Belle?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Shawn grinned. "I'm going to do it, Mom. I'm going to propose to Belle Black."


	8. Deja Vu

Second Chances Chapter 8

(Note: This chapter has a scene from my story "This Magic Moment." Keep in mind that "Second Chances" isn't a sequel or anything, I just felt too lazy to write a whole new scene for Shelle's first date, okay? None of my stories are related, they just make cameos in each other.)

Belle paced her living room, waiting for Shawn to arrive. When she finally heard a knock on the door, she rushed over to answer it. Standing there, on the other side, was Shawn. Belle smiled. "Hey there, handsome."

Shawn leaned against the doorframe. "Good morning, beautiful. Let's go for a walk," he suggested, grabbing her hand and leading her out the door.

Belle quickly shut the penthouse door. "But Shawn, I-"

Shawn interrupted Belle when he spun her around so she was facing him and placed a rough kiss on her lips.

Belle melted the minute Shawn kissed her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, they passionately kissed until Belle pulled back to catch her breath. "Wow," she whispered.

Shawn leaned down so his forehead was touching Belle's. "There's more where that came from, sweetheart," he whispered back, his voice husky with passion. Regretfully, he let go of Belle and turned to press the "down" button on the elevator. At Belle's disappointed look, he lightly brushed his lips against hers and explained, "I've been planning this day for ten years. You have no idea how much stuff I have in store for you."

Belle smiled and wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck. "I'm looking forward to it," she said seductively in his ear.

Shawn took a deep breath. 'How quickly our roles can change,' he thought to himself. 'Man, doesn't she know what she does to me? Come on, Brady, self control.' "Well then, we better hurry, baby, before you get impatient."

"And I'm not a patient woman," Belle added. "So let's go," she said, taking Shawn by the hand and leading him into the elevator.

A few minutes later, in Shawn's car, Shawn reached over into the glove box and pulled out a scarf. "Okay, Belle, here you go. Put it on so you can't see," he commanded her.

Belle looked at him skeptically. "But why, my dear Shawn?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

Shawn smiled. "Because I don't want you to know where we're going," he told her with a light kiss.

Belle grinned. "Okay, fine. You know, I'm getting an interesting sense of déjà vu," she said, tying the blindfold around her head.

Shawn looked inside the glove box again and saw the box sitting there, exactly where he had put it twenty minutes earlier. 'Good, it's still there. And I don't think Belle saw it, so that's definitely a good thing. Come here, you,' he thought to himself, grabbing the box and opening it up to look at the ring he had gotten. 'Belle will be so happy. You know,' he looked over at Belle and noticed that her left ring finger was bare, 'she took off her engagement ring from Jacob. That's also a good thing.' He smiled and started the engine and, with the radio on and blasting, drove towards his destination as he let his mind wander to the night of their first date.

***FLASHBACK***

Belle and Shawn took a sip of their drinks without breaking eye contact. Shawn set down his glass and reached for his fork. He broke off a piece of cake and held it towards Belle. At her confused look, he explained, "Taste it. It's really good."

Belle leaned forward and ate the cake off the fork. She closed her eyes in amazement. "Mmm. That is absolutely wonderful," she commented. She opened her eyes and held out a piece for Shawn.

He reached out and held Belle's hand to steady it, then delicately ate the piece she had offered. Shawn kept his hand on Belle's. He took the fork out from her grasp and, placing it on the blanket, took Belle's other hand. "Dance with me," he said quietly, standing up and pulling Belle up with him. He placed his hands on the small of her back, making sure that his hands weren't too low. In return, Belle wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck. Shawn leaned his head down so his forehead was touching Belle's.

"I have a confession to make," he whispered. "Actually, a couple. First of all, I didn't set any of this up. I realized today that I wasn't going to have any time, but I did clean everything and say exactly how I wanted it to look. Second," he continued without letting Belle interrupt, "Belle, I discovered tonight that I like you. I like you a lot. In fact, I don't consider you my best friend anymore. Tonight, I-" he took a deep breath. "Tonight, I realized that I'm in love with you. I have been for awhile, actually, but when I saw the look in your eyes when we danced at the Last Blast; when I saw how the moon bounced off your hair and made you look like an angel; I finally realized that I love you. Heck, I was even in love with you when we were ice skating at my parents' wedding and we almost kissed. And when I attacked you with the Silly String and we almost kissed. In short, I love you, Isabella Black." With that, Shawn stopped and took a deep breath.

'I hope she's not mad at me,' he thought to himself. 'I mean, I just poured out my entire heart to her. Wait a minute. Why would she be mad? Stop it, Brady. You're making yourself go crazy.'

Belle brushed aside a stray lock of hair from Shawn's forehead. "Shawn, thank you for telling me and for not holding it in like you do so often with your feelings. Tonight has been the best night of my entire life, and I just wanted to let you know that you're being held personally responsible. This is kind of hard for me to say, but I love you, too. You're incredibly caring and—I know you hate this word, but I don't care—and sweet, and I love you for it. In fact, there isn't one specific quality I like about you. I love the entire package. I love you, Shawn Brady."

Shawn smiled in relief. "Thank God you don't hate me after I poured out my heart to you. I was afraid you would."

Belle shook her head. "I could never hate you, Shawn. I love you too much," she confessed.

Shawn lightly brushed Belle's cheek and rested his forehead against hers once more. Belle leaned up to close the small gap between the lightly brushed her lips against his. When they kissed for the first time, both teens felt a shock, like they were meant to be together. They smiled at each other and kissed longer and a little more passionate. At that magic moment, nothing mattered except for their love for each other.

***END FLASHBACK***


	9. ...And Reviving An Old One

Second Chances Chapter 9

Belle felt the car make a bunch of turns, but couldn't figure out where they were going. She remembered back to her first date with Shawn, and that he had blindfolded her to take her to his boat. There, they had shared their first of many kisses and Shawn had asked her to be his girlfriend. Although being blindfolded wasn't Belle's favorite thing in the world, she certainly loved surprises, and Shawn was always great at them. Finally, Belle felt the car stop and heard the engine stop. 'We must be here,' she thought with a smile, wondering what Shawn had in store for her.

Shawn pulled the car to a stop, happy that he had probably succeeded in confusing Belle so she wouldn't know where they were. He looked at his parents' boat, _Fancy Face II_, and silently thanked them for letting him use it once again. Shawn walked around to the passenger side and opened the door. He was pleased to see the smile on her face. 'She must be remembering our first date too.'

Belle heard Shawn open the door. "Should I even ask?" she said, already knowing the answer.

Shawn laughed. "No, you shouldn't because you're not getting anything out of me."

Belle carefully stepped out of the car and felt Shawn's hands go on her waist to keep her from falling. She wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck, surprised at how natural it felt. "How can you be so sure," she whispered seductively. She felt like a moron standing there, trying to force out what she wanted to hear while blindfolded.

Shawn leaned down and kissed Belle on the cheek. "Because my willpower is almost as strong as Superman. Don't worry, sweetheart. It's nothing illegal. Come on." He bent down and picked Belle up. "You always said you wanted your Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet, so here I go," he joked.

"Who said you were my Prince Charming?"

Shawn locked his car and carried Belle down to his boat, ignoring the obviously rhetorical question. "So anyways, we're going for a little trip. I'm not even going to ask if it's okay, because you don't have a choice," he added. He carefully stepped up onto the boat with her in his arms, and set her down in the cabin. "There you go," he said, taking off the blindfold.

Belle looked around for a minute, confused, then smiled when she realized where she was. "We're in your boat, right?" she asked. At Shawn's affirmative nod, she continued. "Why?"

Shawn sighed. "I wanted to make this a little more romantic, but I know you won't let me." He got down on one knee in front of Belle and pulled the box from his coat pocket. "You've already gotten one of my 'I love you' speeches, but I'm gonna give you another one because I want to. Belle, I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Ever since we were four and you rubbed sand in my hair and poured it down my pants when I pissed you off, I've known that you're the one for me. Now, I don't usually believe in love at first sight, but the minute I saw you when I came back from boarding school, I was head over heals for you. When I first found out that you were in a coma after being hit by the train way back in high school, I was devastated. I wasn't sure if you'd live or not, and I didn't know what I'd do without you to keep my rebel side under control. I didn't realize how much I loved you until the night of our first date, at the Last Blast at the end of our junior year. When I saw you in that gold outfit-well, you know what I said. I told you that you looked 'wow.'"

Belle laughed at that memory. Actually, his actual words were "Wow. Belle, you look-wow." That line and the look on his face were priceless.

Shawn laughed along with Belle, then stopped and grew serious. "That night, I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Then, the day after graduation, when you told me to make that choice-I was heartbroken. That was probably the hardest decision I had to make, but I'm glad that I chose what I did. I'm happy because the ten years away from you proved to me that I really can't live without you. Finally, when I saw you at the reunion yesterday, I was amazed at your beauty. When you told me that you were getting married, I almost died right there. 'Way to make a move, Shawn,' I told myself sarcastically. 'Now she's gone forever.' It wasn't until last night when I saw you in that dress when I realized that I needed to take a huge risk. That risk was to get you back or lose you forever. Luckily, I got you back, and I'm not doing the same thing I did before. I made the mistake of pushing you away once, Belle, and I'm sure as hell not doing it again. Isabella Black, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box so the ring was facing her.

Belle was crying by the end of Shawn's speech about his love for her, and took the ring out of the box. Sliding it onto her ring finger, she nodded. "Of course I will, Shawn. The reason I dumped Jacob was so I could marry you. I love you, Shawn, and I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you."

Shawn smiled and reached up to hug his now-fiancée. "I love you, Belle."

Belle buried her face in his shoulder. "I love you too, Shawn."

(And they lived happily ever after…)


End file.
